


Hot Chocolate

by PotterandEvans



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28299621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotterandEvans/pseuds/PotterandEvans
Summary: “Lily? Are you in here?” A quiet knock on the door followed before Mary Macdonald’s face peered around it, looking into the Gryffindor Girls Dormitory. “Sorry to bother you, I was wondering if you could help with my Potions essa- Oh, sorry!”Lily had wrapping paper all over the bed and currently had a bow stuck in her hair. “Woah, close your eyes. I’m wrapping Christmas presents!” She exclaimed, shoving Mary’s present under her bed. “Fine you can look now.”
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Hot Chocolate

“Lily? Are you in here?” A quiet knock on the door followed before Mary Macdonald’s face peered around it, looking into the Gryffindor Girls Dormitory. “Sorry to bother you, I was wondering if you could help with my Potions essa- Oh, sorry!”

Lily had wrapping paper all over the bed and currently had a bow stuck in her hair. “Woah, close your eyes. I’m wrapping Christmas presents!” She exclaimed, shoving Mary’s present under her bed. “Fine you can look now.”

Mary had pressed her hands to her face the moment that she had spotted presents, and cautiously lowered them when Lily said she could. “You sure? Okay, sorry…” She blushed before moving closer to Lily’s bed, perching on the edge. “Sorry, is this a bad time?”

“It’s okay. I thought while it was quiet I’d wrap you girls’ gifts while you weren’t here.” She grinned, grabbing a small box off the bed and started to wrap it. “Not bad at all, are you okay?” She asked, a small smile playing on her face. 

“It’s nice seeing someone wrap gifts the normal way, makes me miss home sometimes.” Mary replied, smiling softly as she looked at the neatly wrapped parcels. “I’m okay, just struggling to get my head around this Potions essay.” She muttered as her eyes continued to skim over the labels on the presents. “I figured that you’re probably the best person to go to, since you’re a Potions genius…” Her voice trailed off as she spotted a name different to the others scrawled onto a label in Lily’s neat handwriting.  _ James.  _ “Lily Evans! Since when were you buying presents for James Potter,  _ and  _ calling him by his first name?!” She asked, picking up the gift with a glint in her eyes.

Lily rolled her eyes, she’d known as soon as anyone found out a whole song and dance would come of it. “I give presents to our whole friend group Mary, I always have and now… Well now you made me get my head out of my arse and tolerate him, he gets a present too.” Lily moved and took the present off of Mary. “Don’t make a fuss.”

“Hmm, okay, Lil…” Mary smirked, looking incredibly excited to tell Marlene and Dorcas about this new revelation as soon as possible. She tucked her foot underneath herself as she got a little more comfortable on Lily’s bed. “So, between you and me… What do you think of him now? Honestly.”

“Mary, I’m not doing this.” Lily said, moving to wrap Remus’ present. “We are friends, like I said. That’s all. You lot have dragged me down with you to being friends with those bloody marauders.” She said, taping down the paper. “Anyway, what do you think of Remus?” She quipped back. 

Mary rolled her eyes, sighing deeply. “I’m not asking if you  _ fancy  _ him or anything! I’ve just noticed that while you seem to protest to us all becoming one big friend group, you actually get on with all of them pretty well. And Potter makes you laugh a lot, more than you used to with- Well, you know who.” She blushed, knowing how Lily usually got when someone brought up Snape. “I just think it’s time you properly admit to yourself that you get on with him finally, for your own sake.” She reached out a hand, laying it on Lily’s forearm. “You know I’m not a malicious person, Lily. I really do care about how you feel.” 

“Mary…” Lily said, sticking the label on the present. “I know, I know you care. I know we are all trying to get on. But you didn’t have to deal with Potter running around after you and being so much of a prick. But I’m working on it. I know he’s better than Snape. Don’t worry, I’m not going back to… him.” 

“Okay, I’m sorry for…” Mary’s eyes welled up a little, which always happened when she got embarrassed at herself for crossing the line. “I’m sorry for pushing. I just really want you to be happy, you’ve had a rough go at it. E-Everyone like us has.” She pushed a tear off her cheek, mad at herself for always crying at the tiniest things. “I’m sorry.” 

“Mary, it’s fine. I’m not being a dick.” Lily said, moving to touch her arm. “Don't go crying on me, you are stronger than that. Maybe strong enough to ask Remus on a date.” Lily said, trying to turn the attention away from her. “I am happy, Mary, really I am. I’m happy with the way things are at the moment.” 

“Sorry, you knew I was a crier when you became friends with me.” Mary sniffed, chuckling tearfully as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper. “I don’t know what you’re talking about with Remus though, he’s just a friend.” Her cheeks were pink as she said it, and she avoided Lily’s eye, instead focusing on playing with a small scrap of wrapping paper. “But I get your point. Sorry for bringing it all up…” 

“It’s fine. Now will you go downstairs and hang out with the others while I finish wrapping, because if I don’t get this done Marlene will find out what I bought her and it won’t be fun.” Lily said, begging with her eyes. “I’ll be down in ten.” 

Mary nodded, getting to her feet again. Before she left, she wrapped her arms around Lily from behind, giving her a brief but meaningful hug. “Love you.” She said softly, before letting her friend go. 

\---

Remus was sitting in one of the armchairs, looking worse for wear with a large book in his lap not really reading it and staring off into space. He looked up when he heard a noise and saw Mary walking down the stairs. “Hey.” he called out, begging for an excuse not to read anymore for his lessons. 

Mary blushed the instant that she heard his voice, her fingers tucking her hair behind her ear. She walked over to him, hoping her eyes weren’t red from crying. “Hi, Remus.” She said, her voice wavering a little. She sat down in the armchair beside him, perching in it slightly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, all good.” He smiled weakly and pushed the book onto the small table in front of him. “What happened? Did you get kicked out of your dorm?” He asked, having seen Mary head up to the dorm not that long before. “I thought you’d have to deal with that less than I do.”

Mary giggled softly, tucking her feet up on the armchair as she looked over at him. “Yeah, Lily’s wrapping presents. She was doing yours when I left, and no, I’m not telling you what it is.” She smiled widely at him, noticing him looking fairly peaky. She never mentioned it though, whenever he was ill. She knew him too well. 

“Damn Mare, you could at least give me a clue.” Remus smirked. “She always gets presents for so many of us. I wish she could be given so much more in return. I had to convince James not to buy her anything this year, I thought it might muck up their friendship.” Remus said, reaching forward and picked up his cup of tea before sinking back with a soft hurmph. 

“You uh… You might actually be wrong about something for once.” Mary blushed, she always loved it when Remus called her Mare. She hugged her knees as she watched him, her head cocked slightly to the side. “Because I might have found a gift all wrapped for Potter on her bed.” 

“You are joking?” Remus said, sitting up. “Shit, he’s going to murder me.” he muttered. He sipped his tea again, “I’ve only got Sirius left to buy for, he’s too difficult sometimes.” He said, his eyes looking towards the fireplace before back to Mary. 

“There’s still some time for him to get her something.” Mary smiled, watching Remus’ face. “With all of your expertise, I’m sure you guys know a way to sneak into Hogsmeade so that he can get her a gift before Christmas.” 

“Yeah, I’ll have to tell him. It’ll be chaotic but we can sort it.” Remus said with a small smile. He put the cup of tea back down. “I’ll fix it, don't worry. We’ll get them together in the end.”

“You’d think they’d have figured it out by now.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “I tried speaking to her about it, in a subtle way, don’t worry. But she’s just so stubborn, she can’t admit to herself that she likes him, even as a friend.” 

“I found them talking the other day, alone.” Remus smirked. “It’s not going to take much for them to relax more around them.”

“I hope so, they’re perfect for eachother.” She murmured, toying with the hem of her jumper. “I just have a feeling that Lily’s stubbornness is going to keep them separated for a long while yet... “

“Lily’s stubbornness isn’t going to be the problem this time, I don’t think.” He smiled. “Right, I need to go and find James. It was lovely to see you.” Remus stood up, a bit shaky on his legs. “Merry Christmas.” He touched her shoulder before walking out of the fat lady’s portrait. 

Mary pressed her hand to her shoulder, where Remus had touched her. She closed her eyes for a moment, regretting that she hadn’t been brave enough to do as Lily had said. She really was a hypocrite…

\---

Remus walked down to the great hall and saw his friends sitting around the Gryffindor table, playing exploding snap. “Alright?” Remus said, slumping down onto the bench with a yawn. 

James immediately patted his friend on the shoulder, shifting up a little so Remus had more space. “So, tonight?” He asked, trying to keep quiet. He knew the signs by now, didn’t even need to check and see when a full moon was coming because Remus exhibited all of the signs that he needed to realise what was happening.

“Tonight.” Remus gave a weak nod. “But you might be a bit busy till then, rumour has it, Lily’s gotten you a Christmas present this year.” He said with a small smile towards James. His eyes flicked to his other two friends. 

Sirius’ eyes were trained on Remus, checking over him. “Evans got him a Christmas present? Shit, mate. You got to get her something amazing in return…”

“What?!” James said in a panicked voice, setting his hand of cards down on the table. “Remus, you’d better not be bullshitting me right now… You were the one who told me not to get her something in the first place!”

“I’m not bullshitting you, Mary just told me. I thought it would be too much.. But she had other ideas…” He said with a small sad smile. “So you’d better get on it before she thinks you’re a bad friend…” Remus mocked slightly. 

“I am so confused.” James groaned, covering his face with his hands. “Why are girls so damn confusing?” He rubbed at his eyes, before looking back at Remus. “I mean, she hated me for years and suddenly she’s got me a Christmas present?” 

“A Christmas present isn’t meant to freak you out.” Remus said with another yawn. “She gets them for all her friends. Just might mean you're classed as a friend now.” He said and got kicked under the table by Sirius. He looked over and Sirius gave him a knowing look, “I’m fine.” He muttered and looked at James. “We should come up with something, we can help.”

“I just wish I understood her.” James sighed, running a hand through his hair. “What in Merlin’s name am I even supposed to get her? I mean, sure, I guess we’re friends now but I don’t have a damn clue about where to start…”

“Hey, shouldn’t you be jumping for joy? She likes you.” Remus said, putting a hand on his friend's arm. “What do you know she likes?”

“I… We’ve never exactly spoken about stuff like that.” James sighed, tugging at his hair slightly as he tried to wrack his brain for inspiration on a gift. “She- Well, I know she likes potions and is muggle-born…”   


“And you’re in love with her?” Sirius laughed, reshuffling the exploding snap deck. “Wow, you really fell in love with a girl you know nothing about, Prongs.”

“Shut up, Padfoot.” James retorted, his cheeks reddening.

“She likes sweets and chocolate.” Remus offered. “She likes muggle things…” He tried to help. 

"Right, well… I guess tomorrow night I'm sneaking into Hogsmeade." James said, shaking his head at Sirius when his friend held up the pack of cards, asking silently if he wanted another game. "Two sleepless nights on the way." He rubbed at his face again.

“If it's too much you don’t have to…” Remus said quietly, looking around to check no one else was listening. He looked a bit nervous to think of going through the transformation without James. 

“Shut up.” James said, shaking his head at Remus before patting his hand which was still resting on his arm. “I can handle it. I’m not backing out on you, Moony, alright?”

“Okay…” Remus said with a small nod. “Maybe tomorrow we can help you find something.” He said before moving to stand up. “Right, I’ve got to… I’ll see you later.” 

“Good luck.” James replied, giving Remus a small grin. He knew how painful the transformations were, and he hated that they could never be there when Remus changed, only able to meet him after in animal form. But the transformation part, he had to do alone. 

Sirius stared after Remus, his hand tapping at the table as he watched him go. “So what are you going to get her? Probably best to plan it out now.” He said with a look as he poured something into his pumpkin juice. 

“I have no damn clue…” James sighed, his finger flicking a grain of salt off of the table. “I mean, it’s like you said. I really bloody like her but- I don’t really know her…” He rubbed at his forehead. “If only I knew what sort of thing she’d gotten me…”

“She’s not going to expect much.” Sirius said, “It’s you. She’s her. She gets it.” Sirius said, swigging the drink down with a sigh. “She likes books and stuff.”

“Am I being totally insane, Sirius?” James asked honestly, really hoping that his friend wasn’t about to start cracking jokes like he usually did. “Why am I even bothering at this point? I mean, I’ve done everything to get her to see the real me but- She’s really not interested, is she?”

“She bought you a Christmas present, maybe it’s a truce?” He said, setting down the cup and moving to put the exploding snap away. “Maybe you’ve got a chance?”

‘Merlin, who knows at this point?” James scratched his jaw, the fingers of his other hand running along the deeply carved grooves in the wooden table that were the result of years of students scratching at it. “Maybe I should just give up, reside myself to just being friends and that’s it…”

“Y-You shouldn’t.” Peter said suddenly from where he was eating chocolate. “I heard Marlene and Lily talking about it the other day. Lily doesn’t hate you and even admitted that she likes talking to you… But I shouldn’t have heard that…”

James flushed bright red, his teeth sinking into his lower lip to bite back a huge smile. He kept his eyes on his hands which were clasped on the table now, unable to look Sirius in the eye. “Oh…” He murmured, knowing that he looked like an absolute dork. “I… I see.” 

“Well then…” Sirius smirked. “I guess you need to come up with something good…” He smiled and stood up. “I’m going for a walk. Meet you outside.” He said before heading off. 

“I am so screwed, Wormy.” James groaned, letting his forehead hit the wood of the table. “So bloody screwed.”

“Yeah, I think you are.” Peter chuckled, watching his friend have nothing short of a meltdown.

\---

They stumbled back into the Common Room before dawn, a little beaten and scratched up, but certainly not as in much pain as they had before. James sank into an armchair, yawning. 

Remus lay down on the sofa, resting his head on Sirius’ lap, his eyes closed. “So did tonight give you any ideas for Evan’s present?” Sirius asked with a smile, reaching up to pull a blanket down, wrapping it around Remus. 

“Oh yeah,” James said, shaking his head. “Yeah, I think I might get her a few scratches and maybe some bruises as well.” He looked over at Sirius sarcastically. “No, I haven’t had any ideas, I’ve been a little preoccupied.”

“She likes pepper imps.” Remus said full of sleep. Sirius had his hand on Remus’ hair and was stroking it softly.

“We can… We can deal with this later.” James yawned, his eyes closing as he leant his head back on the armchair, his whole body weary. “Thank Merlin it’s the weekend.” 

“Mhmm.” Peter mumbled from where he had curled up on a different armchair. “We actually get some sleep.”

“We should probably head upstairs.” Sirius said but looked down to see Remus was already asleep. “Or not.” Sirius put his feet up on the coffee table accepting his fate. 

"Wouldn't be the first time people found us down here." James muttered, shifting a little to get more comfortable in the armchair. He was already starting to drift off.

Lily walked down bright and early to get a head start on her final few pieces of work before the Christmas break, she stepped off the bottom step to see the boys all curled up on the sofa in front of the fire. “Morning.” She said quietly seeing Sirius was awake and staring off towards the fire. 

"Evans, what a joy!" Sirius replied, keeping his voice down around his still sleeping friends. "You always get up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday?" 

“If I get all my work done today, I won't have to do anything for the rest of the week, meaning I get to wander around the castle at Christmas. It’s my favourite time of the year. I usually go and sneak hot chocolate from the kitchens and sit up in the astronomy tower while everyone panics to get their essays finished.” Lily said with a soft smile. “You boys had a long night?” Lily asked, her eyes flicked to Remus with a knowing sad smile. 

"Something like that." Sirius replied. He'd not had a wink of sleep, he never did after a full moon. Not that he really got much sleep on a normal night. "So, you got my old pal James a Christmas present I hear?"

“I did wonder if Mary would have been able to keep that to herself.” Lily said, tucking her hair behind her ears. “It’s only a little something. I just thought seeing as we are all friends it would be a token of peace, there is a war going on, I don’t want to burn too many bridges.”

"Yeah, well I doubt you got me anything, right? I mean, this is quite possibly the first time we've had a conversation where only the two of us are involved." Sirius grinned, winking at her. "I'm glad though, don't ever tell him I told you this, but I'm glad you're friends."

“I didn’t think you needed one. I also think my present to you is helping Marlene pick out your Christmas present.” She smirked. “I’m glad we are too. I think it took awhile for him to mellow down and awhile for me to realise not everyone is so easy to read.”

"Alright, fair play, Evans. For the record, I haven't got you a present either so we're even." He stretched slightly, being careful not to shift Remus on his lap. "Just- Do me a favour, don't lead him on? Don't let him get his hopes up that you're going to be more than friends if you're not. Let him know sooner rather than later, so he stops pining."

“We’re friends Sirius. I’m not dragging him along.” Lily said, a small blush playing on her cheeks as she looked over at James. “He’s a better man than I thought he was.” She looked down at her hands and licked her bottom lip. “I should get to the library.”

"I'm not so sure he realises that." Sirius said, but didn't push it. "Enjoy the books, Evans. See you later." He gave her a wide smile, raising two fingers to his temple to salute her. 

Lily smiled and walked out of the portrait hole. 

“You need to stop pestering them, they’ll get there in their own time.” Remus muttered, turning over with a groan to lie on his back. 

\---

James had his tongue clasped between his teeth as he concentrated on not spilling the drinks while climbing up the steps to the Astronomy tower. He really didn’t want boiling hot liquid spilling over his hand. Sirius had let slip about Lily’s secret hideout over the holidays, and James had noticed her missing from the common room that evening. So he’d decided to take a plunge and seek her out, with perhaps a little help from the marauder’s map. “Lily? You up here?” 

Lily was sitting with her empty mug staring out across the castle grounds. Fireflies were lighting up the edge of the forest and everything looked even more magical than usual. “James?” She asked, looking around to see him holding two mugs. “What are you doing up here?” She queried from her spot on the floor. 

James blinked for a second, still trying to get used to her referring to him by his first name. “Uh- Well, Sirius told me you like to hide away up here during Christmas time and you’d been missing for long enough that I figured you’d need a top up of hot chocolate.” He held one of the mugs out to her. 

“Oh umm, thanks.” She said, moving up so he had space to sit next to her and taking one of the mugs. “That’s really… It’s really nice of you.”

“Plus Sirius had hijacked the radio and was blasting out some really loud muggle music, which I’m sure I would enjoy under different circumstances.” He babbled on as if he was trying to justify coming up here. He nervously sat down next to her, making sure to leave a little space between them as he cradled his mug of hot chocolate. “I hope you don’t mind me intruding, I can leave if you want to be alone…”

“It’s okay. You can stay.” Lily said with a small blush on her face. “It might be nice to have the company.” Lily sipped the hot chocolate, it was perfect. 

“I can see why you like it up here.” James said after a moment, his eyes skating over the grounds from up there, watching the fireflies. It seemed strange, looking down at the forest that he knew so well, thinking about all of the times he had run through it in his stag form, chasing after a werewolf. From here, it looked like it went on forever. “It’s… It’s like looking at Hogwarts from a different perspective.”

“It really is. Hogwarts is the best at Christmas.” She said, taking a sip and smiling. “What are you thinking about?” She asked, looking over at him. 

“About how much I love this place.” He replied, still looking out at the grounds. But he turned his head when he felt her eyes on him, smiling softly. “And how much I’m going to miss it when we leave next year.” 

“Yeah. It’s crazy to say we’ve been here six years already.” Lily said, still looking at him. “So… I heard you know I got you a Christmas present. You know I didn’t mean for it to be a big thing right?” She asked while sipping her drink. 

"Us being friends is always going to be a big thing with that lot." James chuckled, taking another sip of his hot chocolate. "Though I will say that it surprised me, I wasn't expecting one."

“It was just something I saw and knew you wanted…” Lily blushed and looked away from him. “I think I just realised I need to relax a little bit more and stop worrying about things. You’re one of the people who helped me realise that and you deserved a gift for it.”

"Well, I'm glad I could help you come to your senses." James grinned, nudging his shoulder against hers playfully. "I did have a little panic when I realised I had to rush to get you one, Remus had talked me out of getting you a present before and I'd sort of run out of time. But I am also a Marauder, so nothing is too difficult for me." He winked at her, his cheeks pink.

“You really didn’t have to get me anything, James.” Lily said softly. “I didn’t mean it as a contract that you had to get me one in return.” She placed her mug down on the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest to look out across the grounds again, a small smile played on her lips. 

"Lily, I wanted to get you one. I have for six Christmases now." He chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Though for all of those Christmases I assumed you wouldn't appreciate a gift from me, but it seems this year is different."

“Yeah, I probably would have thrown it at you…” Lily laughed. “Maybe I won't throw it at you this Christmas… Are you going home this year?”

"No, my parents are on an Auror mission over the holidays, so Sirius and I agreed that staying here was better than trying to sort out Christmas lunch on our own." He replied, purposefully not mentioning that they would also have help from his house elves. "What about you? Heading back to the muggle world for Christmas?"

“Yeah. I’m going back at the weekend. Got to have Christmas dinner with my mum, sister and her repulsive boyfriend…” Lily smiled, “But it'll be nice to be with my mum.”

"Repulsive boyfriend?" James raised an eyebrow at that, looking interested. "Oh, Evans, do continue. What makes him so horrific?"

“Oh it’s nothing, he’s just this very boring business guy, he works for a company called Grunnings, it’s a drill company and all he talks about is drills and my sister just deserves better. But I can’t tell her that because she’d hate me even more than she already does. Anyway that’s a long story…” Lily smiled and took another swig from her mug. 

"I'm in no rush." He smiled, but knew that if she didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't. "Well, I'm sure he's an absolute wanker if you don't like him, even though you may have been a little wrong about some of the people you used to not like." He winked again, shifting slightly on the floor as he felt his legs begin to grow numb. 

“Am I ever going to live that down?” She asked, nudging against him. “We should probably head back downstairs, it’ll get freezing soon.” 

"No, at least not for a very long time." He laughed softly, looking back out over the grounds. "I know, it’s just a shame that we have to go back to that horrendously loud common room when it's so nice and peaceful here."

“Never thought I’d hear James Potter wanting to stay away from the party.” Lily said, pulling out her wand and casting a warming charm over them. “It really is my favourite spot.”

"I'm running on like four hours of sleep over the last two days." He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Forgive me for not really being in the party mood. Plus I think people believe I'm this guy who never enjoys a bit of peace and quiet, but that's not who I am at all…"

“Oh it’s not. You boys really need to learn how to sleep. Especially with everything.” Lily said softly. “I don’t want to be keeping you up.” 

"You’re not." He grinned, setting down his now empty mug. "I can deal with it, it's the holidays in a few days, I'll sleep then. You uh… You know why we're all tired at the moment, don't you?" Remus had never explicitly told him that he'd informed Lily of his furry little problem, but James had kind of figured it out. Lily was kind and smart, and a good person, so it made sense to tell her. 

“Yeah. I’ll be honest you boys aren’t nearly as subtle as you think you are. Also my best friend was Snape, you really didn’t think he’d tell me all the theories he had?” She offered, putting her mug next to his. 

"He knows now…" James said quietly. "Remember last month when I stopped speaking to Sirius? He told Snape how to find Remus… If I hadn't gone after him, he would've died. But I didn't get there fast enough…"

“I know I shouldn’t know, but I know. It’s awful and I’m sorry that happened to you all.” She put her hand on his arm. “Anyway, let’s not talk about things like that…” She took back her hand. “I was thinking, I could get your present for you, if you wanted?”

James smiled, the spot on his arm still warm from the feeling of her hand. “I… That sounds like a good idea. I brought yours with me.” He blushed, pulling the messily wrapped gift out of his cloak pocket.

“You… You brought yours with you…” Lily smirked. “Thanks…” She pulled out her wand, waving it and a present appeared in her hands, a perfectly wrapped box with a bow on top. 

“Slick, Evans.” James said, impressed. He felt strangely nervous, what if she didn’t like what he had bought her? “Here.” He held it out to her. “Open yours first?”

“Alright.” Lily said, putting the box down next to her and taking the present from him. She opened the wrapping and smiled at the writing set and quill. “James, it’s beautiful, thank you so much.”

His face was pretty red as she opened the gift, especially when the small bit of parchment slid out. “Oh, I uh… I included my address, in case you ever wanted to write to me or whatever when we’re not at school.” He scratched behind his ear nervously.

“Your address, right. That’s good.” Lily smiled, she picked up the paper and tucked it into the set. “I’ll keep hold of it.” She said with a wide smile at him. 

“You uh… You don’t have to write to me, it was just in case.” He looked down at his hands before glancing over to the gift. He’d really splashed out on the quill and ink set, it was far more expensive than he was sure Lily realised. But she deserved it, he didn’t mind splashing out when it came to her.

“James I really love it.” She smiled, “Open yours.” She said, passing him the box. 

“Thanks.” He smiled, taking the present from her. He stuck his tongue between his teeth as he started to carefully unwrap it, not wanting to tear the wrapping paper. It took him a short while but soon enough he was opening the box. “Oh wow…” He lifted the small golden snitch out of the box, its wings flapping feebly. “How in the hell did you manage to get this?” 

“Remus said that Filch had confiscated it from you, so I was doing my prefect duties and I saw where he keeps everything… So I may have umm… distracted him with some fireworks in the dungeons and stolen it back…” Lily said, not looking at him with a blush filling her face. 

“Get out…” James muttured, looking at her in awe and shock. “Lily Evans committed a crime to get me a Christmas present? Wow… Thank you, Lily. This is… This is amazing.” 

“You tell anyone it was me and I will find a way to destroy you.” She threatened with a smile. “Thanks, James. This was nice.”

He mimed zipping up his lips. “I won’t tell a soul.” He smiled, letting the snitch fly into the air before he caught it again. “I’m glad I came up here… Thank you for letting me stay.”

“Any time.” Lily said looking out across the grounds, she bit her lip for a moment before leaning over and pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “Thank you, again.”

James’ eyes flicked over her face, his stomach clenching when she kissed his cheek. He really wanted to kiss her properly, but now wasn’t the time. He could wait. He smiled at her, feeling the heat rising in his face. “Goodnight, Lily.” 

“G-Goodnight, James.” Lily quickly stood up, holding the writing set to her chest. “I’ll see you around.” She smiled at him once more and headed out of the tower and back towards her dorm. 

James watched her leave, but made no effort to get to his feet himself. He pulled his knees up to his chest, looking back at the moonlit grounds. He smiled softly, feeling the wings of the snitch beating against his hand.


End file.
